Golf club



Dec. 24, 1940. Y SEXTQN 2,225,930

sow CLUB Ori inal Filed Feb. 8, 1938 Patented Dec. 24, 1940 PATENT OFFICE GOLF CLUB Isaac E. Sexton, Winchester, Mass.

Application February 8, 1938, Serial No. 189,284

Renewed March 21, 1940 Claims.

The present invention relates to golf clubs, and is more particularly concerned with a type of club head which may be readily altered in Weight without otherwise destroying the balance 5 or feel of the club.

The invention is particularly concerned with wooden clubs commonly designated as driver, brassie, spoon and the like, and all typified by a rounded head generally of wood and appropriately weighted through the insertion of lead or similar means at the back of the head.

It is an object of the present invention to provide for suitably altering the weight of this type of club without disturbing or destroying the essential balance of the club either in the line of flight or transversely thereto. It is a further object of the invention to provide the necessary weight adjustment in such a mechanical form that it in no way interferes with the normal usage of the club, and permits accurate and precise weight alteration with a minimum of difiiculty.

With this and other objects in view, the essential feature of the invention contemplates the provision of a weight-receiving opening centrally located within the club head, and preferably extending from the bottom or sole plate. This opening is designed to receive one or a series of accurately graduated weights of predetermined dimensions. The weight is rigidly locked within the opening through the provision of a securing member anchored to the club head in such a manner that the most violent swinging or impact of the club head cannot loosen or dislodge the weight.

In the accompanying drawingillustrating the preferred form of my invention, Fig. 1 represents an elevation in perspective of one form of my invention, illustrating the club head and. a portion I have discovered that in a golf club of the" wood type it is important to avoid concentration of weight either at the rear portion of the club, or at the toe or heel of the club head, and that conversely it is well so far as possible to locate the weighting medium in proximity'to the sole of the club head. Accordingly I have provided a recess in the club head which opens from the bottom or sole of the club and extends upwardly into the head. This recess is centrally located between the toe and heel, and is either centered between the front and rear faces of the club head or between the median line of the head and the striking face, in other words, moved toward the front. With this construction I have found that substantial alteration in the weight of the head can be secured without disturbing the balance of the club to an extent such as to interfere with its normal usage. On the other hand, variation in weight such as I have found necessary to properly adapt these clubs to a variety of individuals if introduced at the rear edge of the club as is normally the case, vary the balance and feel of the club to such an extent as to seriously interfere with its effectiveness.

I secure the necessary variation in weight by employing a series of accurately graduated weights of predetermined dimensions which may be substituted for one another within the weightreceiving recess or opening. With this construction I have found that a variation approximating one-eighth of an ounce in the weight of the head constitutes a satisfactory variation for practical usage. These weights when individually positioned within the recess in the club head are rigidly locked in place through an anchored locking member in such a manner that the weight is thereafter incapable of movement or play within the recess.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, a club head of typical wood formation is indicated at H), and is provided with the usual hosel I2 connected with a shaft M, which for con venience of illustration is broken away. This head, which may be of any conventional form employed in so-called wooden clubs, is provided with a weight-receiving recess l6 extending upwardly therein from the sole of the club and located generally centrally thereof.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, it will be observed that the recess I6 is cylindrical in formation and extends upwardly in the club head from the bottom portion. The recess is provided with an anchoring member [8 in the form of a square plate or other appropriate noncircular shape, which because of its contour may be forcibly inserted within the circular recess and held therein against turning. The weightreceiving opening or recess is also provided with a metallic lining in the form of a cup 20, as shown more particularly in Fig. 2, having a bottom portion contacting with the anchor plate and a flanged outer rim 22 which seats upon the sole of the club about the opening IS, the club head being slightly recessed or countersunk at this point to provide for a flush bearing of the flange. Superimposed over the flange of the cup is the usual metallic sole plate 24, which is rigidly secured to the club head by fasteners 26. It will be noted again from an inspection of the drawings that the sole plate is provided with a circular opening 28, somewhat larger than the opening formed by the interior of the cup 20, which exposes the rim of the cup sufiiciently to provide a seating shoulder thereabout.

The graduated weights for providing the necessary variation in weight of the club head are indicated generally at 30, 3| and 32. As indicated, these weights are generally cylindrical with a slightly enlarged head 33 designed to seat within and close the opening in the sole of the club. The radial dimensions of all of the Weights are identical, but the axial or lengthwise dimensions of the weights vary according to the amount of weight introduced. Each of the weights is provided with an axial opening 34 having a countersunk portion 35 designed for the reception of a locking screw 38. This screw, as indicated in Fig. 2, passes centrally through the weighting member, and at its inner threaded end 40 is received in a correspondingly threaded opening 42 formed in the anchor plate I8, the club head being recessed slightly at 44 to receive the projecting end of the screw if necessary.

With this type of construction the weight may be readily inserted and rigidly locked in position by tightening the screw 38, as the pressure ex-,

erted by the screw tends to draw the weight toward the anchor plate until seated upon the flange of the cup, the latter firmly sustaining the anchor plate against outward movement. There is no tendency to loosen the anchor plate because of the weight, nor is there any continued strain upon the sole plate and its attaching members. For convenience the locking screw is preferably provided with a hexagonal recess 46, which may be engaged by a suitable instrumentality to remove and permit replacement of weights.

This construction has been found highly effective, as it permits quick and simple substitution of weights either at the club house or during play, and has resulted in providing for a wide overall variation in weight without disadvantageously affecting the balance or feel of the club head. The construction has the added advantage that it permits the club as a whole to be standardized in its construction and method of manufacture, while still providing a permissible weight variation through substitution of one weight member for another far beyond that normally obtained with present constructions.

In the form of the invention shown in Fig. 6, I may substitute for the type of anchor member shown in Figs. 1 and 2 a circular disk 50 attached to the bottom of the cup 20 which may have projections or spurs for engaging with the bottom of the opening to prevent rotation, this anchor member affording sufficient thickness for the reception of the threaded end of the attaching screw. It may be desirable also to solder, braze or weld the periphery of the cup to the sole plate as indicated at 54, providing a unitary structure which will avoid the necessity of tongues or other devices to prevent turning of the anchor portion within the opening. It will also be understood in this connection that although the reinforced anchor member, the cup and the sole plate are made separately, it is nevertheless within the scope of the invention to form the cup and sole plate as a single integral unit with a separate anchor member attached thereto, or to form the cup with an integrally reinforced bottom portion which may then be attached to the anchor plate, the essence of the invention consisting in the cupshaped member with means at the inner end to provide an anchorage for the attached instrumentality.

It will be understood from the foregoing description that although the weight-receiving opening or recess is conveniently and preferably formed in the bottom or sole of the club extending upwardly therefrom, nevertheless without departing from the scope of my invention this opening may be caused to project downwardly from the top of the club, or may even extend inwardly from the striking face of the club, in this case the flush face of the weight member constituting a portion of the striking face. Furthermore, the type of club employing this adjustable system of weighting has been referred to as a wooden club, so-called. This terminology is merely for the purpose of description, however, and is intended to designate a type of club head familiar to golfers. Actually the club may be formed of material other than wood, such as synthetic resins and various moldable and plastic compositions from which such club heads are sometimes made.

I am aware that the prior art is replete with suggestions for altering the weight of golf club heads. Virtually all of these expedients with which I am familiar, however, are not practically usable, and so far as I am aware none of them has achieved success with the many users of golf clubs.

What is claimed is:

1. The combination with a golf club having a head of the wood type provided with a weightreceiving opening, of an anchor member held against rotation at the bottom of the opening, a metallic cup in the opening to hold the anchor member against removal from the opening and having a peripheral flange at the outer end or mouth of the opening, a sole plate engaging with the flange to lock the cup in assembled relation, the sole plate having an opening somewhat larger than the inner diameter of the cup to provide a peripheral seat, a Weighting member supported by the seat, and a fastener passing through the weight member and threadedly engaging with the anchor member at the inner end to draw the weight rigidly against the seating flange.

2. A golf club, comprising a head of the Wooden type provided with a weight-receiving orifice extending inwardly from the sole of the club, an anchor member located in the orifice removed from the entrance, a plate rigidly attached to the sole of the club, means within the orifice and engaging the anchor member and the inner face of the plate for retaining the anchor member against withdrawal, a detachable weight received and supported adjacent the entrance of the orifice, and a securing member connecting the weight and anchor member and serving to draw the weight to a firm seat at the entrance of the orifice, placing the securing member under tension.

3. A golf club, comprising a head of the wooden type having a weight-receiving orifice extending inwardly from one face thereof, a sole plate rigidly attached to the head of the club, an anchor device received Within and embedded in a wall of the orifice to prevent turning and held against Withdrawal by bearing against the inner face of the sole plate, a detachable weight received within the orifice and closing the mouth, and

a securing member passing through the Weight and threadedly connected with the anchor device at its inner end, the securing member engaging and firmly seating the weight, the tension imposed upon the securing member by virtue of such engagement efiectually preventing accidental loosening of the parts.

4. A golf club, comprising a head of the Wooden type having an orifice extending therein from the bottom face, a cup-shaped member received within the orifice, an anchoring member overlying the cup-shaped member at its inner end, a sole plate connected to the bottom face of the club and overlying the open end portion of the cup-shaped member to permanently maintain it within the orifice, the sole plate provided with an opening of a size to form a seating shoulder about the mouth of the orifice, a detachable weight received within the orifice and seating upon the shoulder, the weight having no connection with the anchoring end of the cup, and a securing bolt passing through the weight and threadedly engaging the anchoring portion of the cup at its inner end to draw the weight firmly against the seat upon rotation and maintain the seat through the tension imposed upon the bolt.

5. A golf club comprising a head of the Wooden type provided with a Weight-receiving orifice extending inwardly from the sole of the club, a sole plate rigidly attached to the sole of the club, a cup-shaped member received within the orifice with its base at the bottom of the orifice, the sole plate having an opening larger than the internal diameter of the cup, a removable closure member accurately fitting the opening of the sole plate and forming therewith a smooth sole for the club head, means for attaching the closure member to the club head to place the wall of the cup under compression, and a weighting member retained Within the cup by the closure plate.

ISAAC E. SEXTON. 

